


Descend

by Master_Magician



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24620026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Master_Magician/pseuds/Master_Magician
Summary: Another scream ripped its way out of Cloud. The harder he tried to remember, the more intense the pain grew. The sensation changed from a stabbing pain, to someone taking a sledgehammer and mashing his skull into paste. But Cloud pushed on, he needed to remember, and if it was going to hurt, then so be it.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> More than a few readers have expressed an interest in seeing a longer multichapter work. Well, all I can say is 'wish granted'. But I feel I must warn you, I feel like my quality suffers the longer a work goes for.
> 
> Now this first chapter is a little shorter than my usual fare because I wanted to 'get the ball rolling' so to speak and plus it's more of an introduction/beginning.
> 
> Enjoy.

"W… where…" Cloud struggled to form even a single word. It wasn't that he was simply tired, he was definitely exhausted, but for some reason, his tongue would barely move. Actually, no part of his body wanted to move at all.

Cloud's first guess was a paralysis spell, but quickly ruled that out. If he was affected by one, he wouldn't be able to move or feel anything. While moving was certainly difficult, it was not impossible. For example, Cloud's feet were moving right now, but not very well.

In fact, Cloud was reasonably sure the only reason he wasn't falling flat on his face, was because of the stranger holding him up with their arm under his.

"Now is not the time to dawdle, Cloud." The stranger spoke, but to Cloud, it was like they were far away despite literally being inches away. Not only that, their voice was somehow… familiar. "We must move."

"Who…" Cloud's was stumbling and tripping almost every step, his feet felt like they weren't even there. "Who are you?"

"Unimportant." The stranger dismissed the question. "What is important, is that we hurry. Time is running short."

Cloud wished he could raise his head from where it dangled limply from his shoulders, giving him only the barest glimpse of the stranger's boots and the ground they walked upon. The most Cloud could tell about his mysterious companion was that they were male and easily both larger and taller than him, strong, too. He seemed to have no difficulty half carrying, half dragging, Cloud by the arm.

Just then, Cloud heart the telltale crack of an explosion from somewhere disturbingly close. The stranger immediately twisted them so as to shield Cloud from the worst of the blast. The blonde felt the shockwave strike the stranger, and the wave of heat wash over the both of them, but the stranger was both unharmed and unfazed.

Blinking away blurry vision, Cloud only now was able to focus his mind enough to take in their surroundings.

The sheer brightness of the flames surrounding him was almost enough to make him close his eyes. The need for answers won out, however, and Cloud forced them to squint, instead. Why did this burning villiage look so familiar? It almost looked eerily like…

Nibelheim!

"This can't be…"

"Try not to think too hard, yet." The stranger cautioned. "You might…"

Just as the words left the strangers mouth, and just as Cloud started to regain some focus, a searing pain shot through Cloud's head. It was like someone was taking a knife and jabbing it into the center of his forehead as hard as they could. As much as he tried, he could not stifle the cry that tore from his lips. Again, he would have fallen to his knees if the stranger was not so adamant they continue to their unknown destination.

"Strain yourself." The stranger finished, voice holding zero hint of emotion. "There will be time for that later."

Ignoring the warning, Cloud forced his brain to think, to recall anything that could be of use right now. In the end, all Cloud got was bits and pieces, fragments of memory tinted green that he wasn't entirely sure could be trusted or relied upon.

The City of the Ancients…

Sephiroth's blade coming down…

Watching Aerith fall…

Tifa rushing to the brunette's aid…

Another scream ripped its way out of Cloud. The harder he tried to remember, the more intense the pain grew. The sensation changed from a stabbing pain, to someone taking a sledgehammer and mashing his skull into paste. But Cloud pushed on, he needed to remember, and if it was going to hurt, then so be it.

The all-encompassing rage…

The buster sword clashing with the masumune…

It became too much, even for Cloud's constitution. He was left gasping for breath, head and his surroundings spinning at a million miles per hour. The stranger was now fully dragging him by the arm, Cloud's boots leaving lines in the dirt.

"You need time to recover before you can remember." The stranger advised. "Time you will not have if they are able to find you."

"Fine." Cloud hissed through gritted teeth as he struggled to correct his fumbling steps once again. It took considerable effort, but eventually he was able to do so. At least now he was able to raise his head the tiniest bit, enough to look around but not enough to make out the stranger's face.

The stranger didn't seem too keen on answering questions, but it wasn't like Cloud was swimming with options right now. First, he needed to get his head back on straight, next he would…

That was when Cloud saw them.

Black silhouettes amongst the flames. Much like the stranger, Cloud's vision was too blurry to make out details, between that and the intensity of the light behind them. The best he could determine was that they were people, and were in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but that was the limit of Cloud's perceptions.

"We're too late." The stranger quickened their pace, almost costing Cloud his footing again. Not that it would have mattered, the stranger was so eager to get away from these other people, that Cloud was surprised he didn't simply throw him over his shoulder and start running. "They've found you."

"Who?" Cloud croaked out.

Right as Cloud said the words, the ground beneath their feet changed from solid dirt into wooden planks. The barely detectable sloshing of water, almost inaudible over the roaring flames behind them, told Cloud they'd walked out onto a dock.

"This way." The strange pulled Cloud along toward a small boat, a tiny one, barely able to hold two, maybe three if one was desperate, people. "You must go, now."

The stranger wasn't exactly gentle as he laid Cloud into the boat, but he wasn't rough, either. More than anything, he was hurried, no doubt by whatever or whoever those figures in the fires were.

Now that Cloud lay on his back, and his eyesight coming back into focus since they were away from the painfully bright lights, he was able to see the identity of the stranger. Oh, yes, he was indeed familiar.

Sephiroth.

Cloud's eyes went wide in horror as he realized just who he had been walking beside. Even more alarming, the blonde's body was still not wanting to function correctly. His arms wouldn't move, neither would his feet, he couldn't even muster the strength to scream or yell. He was completely at the silver haired monster's mercy.

As if Cloud's situation could be any worse, the buster sword was nowhere to be found, either. Cloud only noticed it was missing from its customary place on his back when said back made contact with the wooden floor of the boat.

"Take this." Sephiroth, in a weirdly gentle manner, took hold of Cloud's hands and placed something in them before closing both around it like some kind of precious artifact. "No matter what happens, you must keep it safe. Trust no one."

Cloud wished he knew just whatever it was, but his hands wouldn't move from where Sephiroth left them across his stomach.

An infinite number of questions rattled around Cloud's brain as he watched Sephiroth untie the knots keeping the boat moored at the dock. At first, Cloud thought he intended to get in with him, but this was proven not true when the silver haired SOLDIER gave the boat a solid kick, sending it out into the water and away from the burning village.

As the boat floated away, now caught by the water's currents, Cloud felt his strength returning. It wasn't much, but it was enough to slightly raise his head. Allowing him to see over the edge of the boat at where they just came from.

The shapes were advancing from the burning buildings. A dozen, maybe more? They all blurred together so it was far too hard to tell. What Cloud could see was that they were all slowly making their way toward the now solitary Sephiroth.

"I will give you all the time I can." Sephiroth called out from where he stood on the edge of the wood. "Make the most of it."

Cloud watched Sephiroth raise the masumune, which had just appeared in his hands, or perhaps Cloud had been too delirious to notice he was carrying it. Sephiroth lifted it up over his shoulder into one of his combat stances.

The smoke from the fires began to swirl as if guided by some unseen force. The acrid vapor spun and twirled like some unnatural storm around Sephiroth and the village before shooting out toward Cloud's boat.

Cloud was no fool, he knew if that struck, the boat would capsize instantly. But there was nothing he could do but wait and brace for impact.

Before it could, Cloud caught sight of a different light from within the almost impenetrable cloud. A mighty gust of wind, an Aeroga spell, if Cloud was not mistaken, shoved the smoke aside. When this one hit Cloud's boat, instead of capsizing the vessel, it propelled him away from the dock at breakneck speed.

The last thing Cloud saw before the smoke engulfed the dock once more, and his neck muscles gave out, was the unknown figures charging at Sephiroth.


	2. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think I've pointed out in other works of mine that I have not played the original game in an extremely long time, so a lot of details I am unfamiliar with. I do know some things, and major events, but minor stuff is beyond my memory. As a result, certain characters may appear or may not. Such as Sid, Yuffle, and so on. Just like certain events might get a bare bones mention or be totally rehashed like the remake is probably going to do. I might just read up on their personalities and try to add them, but I'm not sure I'll be able to write them very well if I do it that way. We'll have to see.
> 
> Enjoy.

When was the last time Cloud had even been in water? Honestly, he couldn't remember in the slightest, but whether he'd gone swimming recently had been pretty low on his remembrance priority list.

Although his head was still fuzzy, Cloud was regaining some clarity at least, even if he was doing so while lying on his back in a slowly rocking boat.

Next up, working on mobility.

It took some effort, but Cloud was able to lift his leg into the air, followed by the other one. He did an experimental flex of his knees and found them both working like normal, albeit a bit stiff. Stiff was good, stiff was manageable.

Now for the real mystery…

"The hell?" Cloud couldn't help himself from yelling when he discovered what it was Sephiroth had placed in his hands. At first, he thought it was a fake, some kind of trick, but it was real. Cloud had no idea just how he knew, but somehow, deep down, he did.

The black materia, Sephiroth's most dangerous and potent weapon, and the man had just up and gave it to Cloud with the words 'no matter what happens, you must keep it safe. Trust no one'.

Cloud stared at the black colored orb in his hands, twisting and turning the sphere over. All the while he mused on why Sephiroth had given it to him, for that matter, why did Sephiroth help him?

Those black figures… could they have been the others coming to rescue him? It didn't explain why Sephiroth wasn't just killing him on the spot, neither did it explain the black materia, but it was one possibility. Then again, it could all be just some scheme the silver haired SOLDIER concocted, even if the end result was just to mess with Cloud's head. Sephiroth was twisted that way.

Something else, none of this explained that bizarre storm that nearly got him just before he escaped. If Sephiroth hadn't of used his magic to push Cloud away…

First of all, Cloud needed to recuperate and regain his bearings. It would also be helpful to find a weapon, seeing as how his buster sword was missing in action. Next, Cloud could focus on searching for the others, wherever they were. If he was lucky, they were already looking for him, too.

Tifa was probably worried sick about him, knowing her. No doubt she would be put to shame by the worry of Aeri…

A scream tore from Cloud's lips as a lance of pain shot through his skull. The world was sent spinning once more and the blonde found himself grateful he hadn't dared try to sit up yet. It wasn't until the agony stopped did Cloud dare try to think again.

"Damn it." Cloud swore, his hand clutching his head. These flashes of pain were getting old. Cloud thought he'd gotten past this and fixed his cracked mind. Maybe it hadn't been as fixed as Tifa thought. "Ugh… one problem at a time."

While Cloud was recovering from his latest migraine, something caught his attention, or rather, a missing something caught his attention.

The boat had stopped moving at some point.

Pocketing the black materia in a pouch on his belt, Cloud gripped the edges of the boat with both hands and hoisted himself up into a sitting position.

Taking a look at his surroundings, Cloud was dumbstruck.

Gone was the river, gone was the burning village. Cloud now sat in the middle of a boat, sitting in the middle of the sector 7 slums. Even stranger, the boat was in the open square that was in front of Seventh Heaven. The bar itself, which had been destroyed by the collapse of the sector 7 plate, was currently sitting right in front of him, perfectly intact.

Cloud knew his memory wasn't exactly reliable right now, but he was certain Seventh Heaven didn't exist anymore. Then again, someone could have rebuild it and was trading on the name. That was a lot more likely. It did look awfully similar, though.

After some effort, Cloud shifted onto his knees and swung one leg over the edge of the boat. With his boot making solid contact with the dirt, Cloud threw the other over and forced himself to stand. He was a lot more wobblily than he liked, but at least he was standing under his own power now.

Even if it was under different ownership, Seventh Heaven was still a familiar landmark, a goal Cloud could focus on. At the very least a place he could sit in a chair instead of on his back, maybe the patrons would also have some helpful information.

One step, two steps. It was slow going, and a little difficult, but Cloud began the walk to Seventh Heaven, his strength returning with each successful movement of his feet.

How long was Cloud out of it while floating down the river? Did someone fish him out and bring him back to Midgar? Awful long way to do so, seeing as how no rivers ran near the city. This didn't explain why the boat itself was here, but…

Cloud had just glanced over his shoulder and had to do a double take.

The boat was gone. Not dragged away or anything, there wasn't even a mark in the dirt to show it had ever been there at all.

Cloud lightly swatted himself in the side of the head. Now was really not a good time to be going through hallucinations, again. He'd already had enough of them to last a couple lifetimes.

Speaking of life… where was everyone? Cloud had never seen, in his short time living in sector 7, the streets looking so empty. There wasn't a single person outside in the middle of the day, no dogs barking, no one arguing over something stupid. The entire sector seemed to have an unsettling pall hanging over it.

Whatever was going on, it was neither natural, nor good.

"Get it together, Strife." Cloud shook his head hard before refocusing on Seventh Heaven. One thing at a time…

Taking the stairs up into the bar two at a time, Cloud burst through the door.

Strange… the place was empty. Not just empty but… eerily empty. The whole room just didn't feel right, like something was off, but it was impossible for Cloud to tell what.

"Tifa?" Cloud called into the silence of the building. "Barret?"

No answer. Just like the streets outside, the inside of the bar was quiet as a tomb.

If it was a new building, the builder had an incredible memory. Every detail, down to the ceiling fans and the pinball machines off to the side were exactly as Cloud remembered. If those machines were there, then maybe…

Jogging over, Cloud reached under one of them for the hidden switch. He'd never used it himself, but he'd seen several of the others do so.

Cloud found it, but the switch didn't seem to do anything.

Brow scrunched up in annoyance, Cloud gave the pinball machine a couple solid thwacks on the side. Not that it helped much, it still was unresponsive despite having power.

"Huh?" As Cloud leaned back up, the writing on the back of the machine caught his eye. It was blurry and fuzzy, the letters and numbers jumbling together and illegible.

Blinking and shaking his head did nothing to make the writing clearer. It would be just Cloud's luck he'd suffered some kind of brain trauma that screwed with his already shoddy mental state.

Seventh Heaven was obviously a waste of time, Cloud was going to have to think of some other place to go. Perhaps Stargazer Heights, or maybe the neighborhood watch office?

Just in case the others returned, Cloud decided to use a convenient pencil and pad of paper behind the counter to write out a quick note. The blonde doubted it was going to be helpful, but it was something.

A single sentence was all Cloud wrote before he noticed something wrong. Much like the pinball machine, the writing was illegible. Obviously, Cloud knew how to read and write, and he knew his handwriting wasn't that bad, but none of it explained why…

Since waking up here in sector 7, Cloud's keen hearing at last caught a noise.

A metallic whirling sound, much like a…

Cloud's hones reflexes kicked in before he'd even had the thought to act.

Throwing himself over the bar, Cloud rolled over the wooden surface and landed face down on the other side just as a torrent of gunfire tore into the bar. He covered the back of his neck with his hands as a shower of destroyed glass rained down on top of him.

As the glass shared landed all over Cloud's body, his instincts kicked in.

Small caliber, extremely high rate of fire, long firing time despite said fire rate. Judging by the sound, single shooter with a single high capacity weapon. Almost fifteen seconds of sustained fire had to be a minigun or other similar piece of equipment. No other automatic on full spray would last as long, not without heavy modifications.

When the gunfire finally stopped, Cloud acted.

A foolish or less trained person would have tried to peek over the bar, Cloud was neither of these things. Finding a nearby glass shard of adequate size, Cloud lifted it up over the bar and used the reflection to get a look at the front of the building.

The door and windows had been utterly demolished, the bar's tables reduced to shredded scrap wood. The cheaply built front walls didn't hold up much better but were at least still standing…

Right up until something big slammed into them, causing them to fall down onto the floor of the bar with a heavy thump.

Standing in the destroyed remnants of the front of the bar was none other than Barret Wallace. The twirling barrels of the minigun on his arm grinding to a stop.

"Gotta admit." Cloud breathed a sigh of relief as he stood up. "Never thought I'd say this, but you have no idea how glad I am to see you, Bar…"

One proper look at Barret, and all of Cloud's survival instincts began to flare up. Alarm bells began rang in Cloud's brain the moment his mako eyes fell on the familiar man. It was definitely Barret, even without his gun arm, the man tended to stick out like a sore thumb, but something was off about him. Much like the entirely of sector 7, he felt just so… wrong.

Cloud's eyes caught the twitch of Barret's arm before it moved. Not bothering with questions or words, Cloud broke into a sprint just as Barret unleased a fresh torrent of bullets in the blonde's direction. The impacts shredded the wall barely inches behind Cloud's retreating form.

Rounding a corner, Cloud shouldered the door in his way and escaped into one of the bar's back rooms, kicking the door shut behind him as he ran. The wooden barrier lasted barely a few seconds against Barret's gun.

A few seconds, though, was all Cloud needed to smash through another door leading outside. Once out into the open air, he ducked into the first available alley. Barret's gun was an issue in the open, but Cloud knew he could easily outrun the man by using the streets of sector 7 to his advantage.

At this point, Cloud didn't think anything could surprise him anymore. While he knew Barret never liked him all that much, he at least liked to think he and Barret and gotten past the whole open hostility business. Cloud would even openly admit the two had a grudging respect for one another.

That wasn't Barret, Cloud decided. He might swear and yell at him, maybe make some empty threats to shoot him or tear his limbs off, but they would be just that, empty. No, whoever, or whatever, that was, it wasn't the real Barret.

It also could be the real Barret but under some kind of mind control, which is exactly why Cloud was trying to put as much distance between them as he could. He'd hate to have to explain to the others, and especially Marlene, why he killed Barret. That would be a conversation nobody liked.

'Trust no one', Sephiroth had said. How ironic that of all people whose advice Cloud should have listened to, Sephiroth was currently number one on the list.

"Whoa!" Cloud rounded another corner and nearly had a minigun slammed into his face, he ducked beneath it, but Barret's leg shot out impossibly fast and struck him with enough force to knock him right off his feet.

Slamming into a nearby brick wall, all the air was knocked from Cloud's lungs. He recovered swiftly, but only managed to get to his knees before the multiple barrels of Barret's minigun was pointed right in his face.

Looking up at his one-time companion, Cloud evaluated his options. Barret was no idiot, he knew that when holding someone at gunpoint, you never stand within arm reach. Cloud had no way to get to the gun in time to divert it, and if he tried running, Barret could spray him with bullets before he made two steps.

"Barret?" Cloud tried to read the other man's face for some hint of what he was thinking. "What are you doing?"

The whole time he pursued Cloud, Barret's face had been a mask of stone. His countenance didn't betray the tiniest bit of emotion, until now. With Cloud on his knees and at his mercy, Barret's lips lifted in an unsettling grin. The sheer size of it was unnatural on the large man's face.

Just as the barrels of the minigun began to whir, an enormously wide, and very familiar, sword was driven through Barret's back and out his front.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news, I finally know where I'm going! Bad news, I haven't figured out how to get there. This second chapter was the one I knew I was going to have a lot of trouble on, so I'm glad it's done. The third chapter I had ironed out out before I even thought of this one, so hopefully it will be a little smoother.
> 
> And as said in the last chapter, updates will be a little slower than I've been doing. As much as I liked doing a work every other day, and as valuable and important as the comments/reviews are to me, I can't keep that kind of update schedule going forever, so I had to slow down somewhat.

**Author's Note:**

> Something I would like to stress, updates for this one will be a little slower for a time. Mostly because I only have a rough idea of where I'm going. I might also do another new work here and there. We'll have to see how it goes.


End file.
